‘Whole-brain’ skills critical to leading in the
face of the combinatorial effects of disruption
An emerging supergroup of employees and consumers is adding
intense pressure to already challenged C-suite leaders who are
navigating tough economic, technological and geo-political
environments — further threatening company growth, a new Accenture
(NYSE: ACN) study finds. With nearly three-quarters of these
powerful stakeholders believing they have the potential to destroy
company value in the long term, the C-suite understands the need to
respond.
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C-suite must engage a powerful group of
employees and consumers with a new approach to leadership, new
Accenture Strategy study finds. (Graphic: Business Wire)
The ‘Whole-Brain Leadership: The New Rules of Engagement for the
C-suite’ report from Accenture Strategy — which is based on
interviews with 200 C-suite executives and a survey of more than
11,000 employees and consumers globally — identified a new
influential group of stakeholders with the power to either
destabilize or uplift businesses. Combined with other disruptive
forces, like emerging technologies and new market entrants, this
group is motivating the C-suite to implement a human-centered
approach to leadership. This “whole-brain” approach balances “left”
(scientific) brain skills with increasingly valued “right”
(creative) brain skills, such as empathy, innovation and
intuition.
“Pressures are compounding on the C-suite like never before. The
complexity and intensity of disruption is challenging executives to
transform leadership styles and strategies on their journey to
achieve competitive agility,” said Mark Knickrehm, group chief
executive, Accenture Strategy.
An emerging supergroup
The study identified a powerful group of employees and consumers
— dubbed the ‘Pathfinders’ — who represent an additional pressure
to the C-suite and share a common mindset about how leadership
needs to change. Their demographics defy convention, spanning
evenly across gender and generations from Gen Z to Baby Boomer.
Pathfinders are five times more likely to take action in numbers
against their employer, and 61% have already taken disruptive
action by voicing their disappointment as a customer. Seventy-nine
percent of Pathfinders say that social media has increased the
power of their voice in the companies where they work, and 71% say
it has enabled them to influence the behavior of the companies they
buy from.
“The spending power and professional influence of this group,
combined with their fluency of digital technologies, has given them
a disproportionate influence which company leaders can no longer
ignore,” said Katherine LaVelle, managing director, global Talent
& Organization North America lead, Accenture Strategy.
“Instead, C-suite leaders should harness their energy and passion
to accelerate the type of change that is needed to reposition
themselves and their companies for success.”
New style of leadership required
Pathfinders are demanding a new type of leader to engage their
passion and capabilities, one that has a strong balance of
human-centered and analytics-led skills. The majority (89%) of
today’s C-suite hold business school, science or technology degrees
and have honed left-brain skills — such as critical reasoning,
decision-making and results-orientation. While these skills will
always be valuable, C-suite leaders recognize the need to
strengthen their right-brain skills for a well-rounded whole-brain
skillset. Sixty-five percent say that right-brain skills are their
weakest and only 8% report their organizations using a whole-brain
approach today.
In today’s volatile business environment, this balance is no
longer an option. C-suite leaders recognize this reality with 82%
saying their organization intends to use a whole-brain approach in
the next three years. The companies that have already adopted a
whole-brain approach see a positive bottom-line impact and realize
on average 22% higher revenue growth and 34% higher
profitability.
“C-suite leaders are aware of the challenges that face them at a
macro-economic level, company level and now on a deeply personal
level,” said Peter Lacy, senior managing director, Accenture
Strategy. “Reskilling to change the style of leadership, by
combining data, creativity and a human-centered approaches, is now
crucial to building enduring businesses that generate stronger
growth and profitability.”
The C-suite must adopt a whole-brain approach to leadership and
secure the future of their companies through:
1. Addressing the skills gap: Changing the mix of
leadership skills at the top of companies will help address the
current skills gap. C-suite leaders recognize this need for change,
with nine in 10 C-suite executives already taking action by using
organic and inorganic ways to tackle the problem. Over half (55%)
of companies surveyed are already re-skilling C-suite members, and
46% are bringing in new talent from outside their organization to
address the challenge.
2. Relinquishing some traditional leadership:
Harnessing the power of the Pathfinder group is essential. By
embracing them, allowing their voices to be heard and insights
acted upon, the C-suite will gain allies and re-credential their
leadership. By leveraging these natural agents of change, companies
will benefit significantly as Pathfinders are two times more likely
to be motivated to give their best to their employer, and twice as
likely to choose a more expensive brand because they prefer what it
stands for.
3. Driving change deep and wide: Proactively
ingraining data-led and human-centered skills into the leadership
of organizations is crucial to longevity and
competitiveness. The C-suite must build these balanced
skills and use them at both the organizational and individual
level. This will enable senior executive teams to leverage a whole
brain approach to solve higher value problems that today’s
combinatorial effects of disruption present.
To find out more about the report, visit
www.accenture.com/whole-brain-leadership. Join the conversation at
@AccentureStrat #CompetitiveAgility
About the research
The Whole-Brain Leadership: The New Rules of Engagement for the
C-suite report from Accenture Strategy, interviewed 200 C-suite
executives across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and US,
surveyed more than 11,000 employees and consumers in China, France,
Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States
with in person focus groups in Spain, UK and US. The study found
that leadership teams that actively acquire, deploy, demonstrate
and embed diversified whole-brain thinking across the organization
fare better financially than those that don’t.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions — underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network — Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 477,000 people
serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Strategy combines deep industry expertise, advanced
analytics capabilities and human-led design methodologies that
enable clients to act with speed and confidence. By identifying
clear, actionable paths to accelerate competitive agility,
Accenture Strategy helps leaders in the C-suite envision and
execute strategies that drive growth in the face of digital
transformation. For more information, follow @AccentureStrat or
visit www.accenture.com/strategy.
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Maggie NolanAccenture+1 845 661
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Lucy DaviesAccenture+44 777 3044
808lucy.d.davies@accenture.com
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